The value of the positron emission tomography camera for assessing in-vivo biochemical behavior and its usefulness for clinic diagnosis of the human body is well known as set forth in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 396,098, filed July 7, 1982, entitled Three-Dimensional Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Camera System. Conventional positron cameras are limited to planar cross-sectional imaging without using a multi-step scanning process. As the cameras become more utilized in clinical medicine, three dimensional imaging is required which has high resolution in all three dimensions, multiple image planes, and higher sensitivity. However in the past, the positron camera has been limited to a few research centers due to its high cost.
The present invention is directed to various improvements in a positron emission tomography camera which results in improved performance, high resolution, high efficiency, and lower costs.